Kyoto University Innovation Capital Corporation ("Kyoto iCAP"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyoto University, and Monozukuri Ventures ("MZV"), a company that supports hardware startups through investment and prototyping, have signed a collaboration agreement to strengthen support for manufacturing-related startups. (MZV), which supports hardware startups through investment and prototyping, have signed a collaboration agreement to strengthen support for startup companies related to manufacturing.

The Keihanshin area, which was selected as a startup ecosystem global hub city by the Cabinet Office in 2020, is working to further support the creation of startups. Kyoto is home to Kyoto University and other universities and research institutes conducting cutting-edge research, as well as a concentration of globally active manufacturing companies that have long been active in the manufacturing industry. On the other hand, startups face challenges in prototyping and mass production of hardware, and there is a lack of sufficient support for manufacturing.

Kyoto iCAP and MZV have signed a collaboration agreement to strengthen the creation and support of startups. MZV will cooperate with Kyoto University related startups to solve their prototyping and mass production problems. Through this collaboration, MZV and Kyoto University will actively work to revitalize manufacturing startups and contribute to the activities of the Startup Ecosystem Global Hub City.

About Monozukuri Ventures
Monozukuri Ventures (MZV) is a Kyoto and New York-based company that provides venture investment funds for hardware startups and technical consulting services for hardware prototyping and manufacturing. The MBC Prototyping Fund, managed by MZV, was launched in the summer of 2017 and has been investing in 32 hardware startups in the U.S. and Japan. The fund has invested in 32 hardware startups (15 in Japan and 17 in the U.S.) (as of the end of November 2020). It has also supported more than 70 prototype projects, mainly startups.